An eschatological, non-denominational ministry

Blog note. Jesus indicated
that ‘fearful sights’ (various natural disasters) would occur leading up to the
time known as the Tribulation and Great Tribulation (a combined seven year
period of great destruction on earth). Although these types of things have
occurred in the past for centuries and thousands of years, they could be
identified as the ‘season of the times’ due to the ferociousness of these
events. They would be occurring in greater intensity, severity, frequency,
size, duration, scope … just like the pains that a woman experiences in labor
the farther along she is in the labor process. We are in the ‘season of the
times’ that comes just before the seven (7) year Tribulation/Great Tribulation
period
… And great earthquakes shall be in diverse places, and
famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be
from heaven. (Luke 21:11).
… And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and
in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea
and the waves roaring; (Luke 21:25)
… Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after
those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be
shaken; (Luke 21:26)
… This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall
come. (2 Timothy 3:1)
Jesus is giving a series of prophecies about what to look for
as the age of grace comes to a close. These verses are several of many such
prophecies from throughout the Bible. 2017 was the worst year in recorded
history for the intensity, frequency, severity, duration and occurrence of a
large number of severe natural disasters worldwide. Earthquakes, volcanoes,
hurricanes, typhoons, cyclones, torrential flooding, unprecedented wildfires in
unusual places, devastating droughts, excessive/scorching heat setting records
everywhere, record snowfalls in Europe and Russia. Snow in the Arabia. This
list can go on. Most studied Eschatologists believe these ‘fearful sights’ and
massive natural disasters are all part of the ‘CONVERGENCE’ of signs that this
Biblical and prophetic age is closing. Most people who study prophecy are
familiar with the routine reference(s) made that these things will be like
a woman having labor pains, growing in intensity, frequency, size and duration.

Freak storms hurled hailstones the
size of ping-pong balls onto crops, orchards and vineyards in
southeastern France over
the weekend causing widespread damage and prompting authorities to declare a
state of “natural emergency”.

In tears,
Aurélien Esprit, a fruit grower in Pont-de-l’Isère in the Drome area filmed the
deluge on his apple orchard on Facebook, saying: “The sky has fallen on our
heads and the year stops here for us.”

The hailstones bore holes
through netting above the trees to hammer the fruit below, turning much of it
to pulp. “I don’t think I’m going to make it this time,” he said.

“Pretty much my entire harvest
is ruined,”said Gregory Chardon who grows apricots,
peaches and cherries at his farm in La Roche-de-Glun in the Drome department,
about an hour’s drive south of Lyon.

“The damage is enormous and
widely spread – cereals, greenhouse and vegetable farms, and vineyards as
well,” Mr
Chardon said. Didier Guillaume, the agriculture minister, said the state would
declare a natural emergency to enable farmers to receive insurance payments to
cover their huge losses.

“It’s catastrophic, I’ve rarely
seen scenes like this,”
Mr Guillaume told BFM television while touring the area Sunday.

“It’s
unthinkable that farmers would be forced into bankruptcy because of this.”

The
hailstones, some 7cm wide, also wreaked destruction on part of the Saint-Joseph
appellation vineyards in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region and reportedly wiped
out half of the Croze-Hermitage appellation’s harvest, despite it being
equipped with anti-hail devices.

“In 35 years, I’ve never seen
such violence,” said Pierre Combat, president of the local wine inspection
unit.

The
epicentre of the storm was at Romas-sur-Isere, where the hail smashed car
windscreens and damaged dozens of roofs and floodwaters filled the streets.

In the
neighbouring Haute-Savoie region, a 51-year-old German woman was a killed after
a tree fell on her camper during the storm. Rescue workers responded to
hundreds of calls for help and officials said 10 people were injured.

“We were
warned there would be a storm but nobody was prepared for this,” said a
resident called Arlette, 83.

“It was the apocalypse. Everything
went black.”

Robert
Vautard, climatologist and director of research at CNRS and the Pierre-Simon
Laplace Institute, said that while the phenomenon was not unprecedented, this type of event
could become more frequent due to climate change.

He said that
while the formation of hailstorms was very hard to predict, “the weather
conditions that lead to these stormy phenomena, in general, are destined to
become more frequent, particularly with temperature rises that bring water
vapour into the atmosphere and more downfalls as a result”.

In southern
France, he said that intense rainfall episodes had risen by 20 per cent in the
past 50 years “due to climate change”.